New Silverstone FT02

Trigeminal said:
Also newegg tends to ship from their warehouses, not drop ship from manufacturers. I've only had good experiences with them.
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WorldExclusive said:
+1 Great info, you right most of these etailers drop shipped the FT02 from the manufacture i.e. FrozenCPU
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Why is it worse that your package is handled less before it's shipped to you? Especially if the product is a computer case that is left in its original box when being shipped which tends to be the norm w/ Newegg whereas some other etailers will place your case package inside yet another box for added security.

I don't see Newegg shipping as a good thing anymore; they're merely average. Usually when I buy from them it's because of a sale or rebate, otherwise I often find a better price elsewhere. Egg regularly skimps on packing materials in an effort to "go green". This has happened repeatedly and is a direct cause of at least one of the 3 RMAs I've had to request in the last few years. Also, despite having warehouses all over the country to localize distribution and shorten turnaround time, I still frequently find myself waiting 5 days for my order while paying no less than the other large etailers. In fact, I usually pay more for shipping from Newegg vs Amazon/Directron/TigerDirect/Mwave/Buy.com/etc. Better yet, here's a list of my savings versus newegg over the last 3 months of picking up parts-

~$80 saved on my i7 860 cpu from Microcenter vs newegg
$23 on my Corsair HX 750w PSU @ mwave w/ rebate
$14 on Windows 7 Pro @
$20 on Logitech MX Revolution from Best Buy
$12 Corsair h50 from mwave

Newegg sold me my mobo, RAM, vid card and keyboard and 2 of those 4 were bought because of rebates or else I'd have bought them locally for less.


Da egg is still a good etailer overall and frequently has great deals, but their main selling point IMO is how well their website/DB works; they are w/o peer when it comes to ease of searching their catalog. I use Newegg to browse products, then price compare elsewhere. But their pricing is fickle because they automatically raise prices (QUICKLY!) based on consumer interest. Pick a product that drops down to a good price, and then watch as newegg raises the price incrementally week by week or even day by day.
 
I only purchased three of my PC parts from Newegg. I tend to buy my cases from Newegg because they have free shipping on a regular basis. Sensitive PC parts I buy from other retailers i.e. TigerDirect/CompUSA, this is to avoid RMA'ing parts so I can return them directly to a B&M store if there's a problem.
 
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My Sniper Bk Ed Build is all done, I would say it's very decent for the money. I don't like a few things about it (Cheap top I/O panel, mesh side panel rattles, PCI slots slightly off), but for now it will do just fine. I kinda wish I bought a Silverstone TJ09 or TJ10 in silver now. I've learned if you want a long term investment to look good, get silver, as black scratches too much and then you just see silver anyway.

So it's CES 2010, see if Corsair comes out with a high air flow mid tower, see if Cooler Master comes out with a mid tower 840, see if Silverstone comes out with a TJ11.

Failing all that, I just pick up a TJ09/TJ10. From what I understand, there is very little difference between these two models (I would rather have the TJ09 as I hate doors, but if the TJ10 is that much better I may consider it), they are nice for 120mm fans and I plan to use Black Panty Hose as a cheap custom air filter over all the fans. I read about that thinking what a great idea to such a common problem. You could use some mounting tape and this over all the holes and it would look like a nice custom speaker cloth. No cleaning, just tie down a new one.
 
SylarPowers said:
My Sniper Bk Ed Build is all done, I would say it's very decent for the money. I don't like a few things about it (Cheap top I/O panel, mesh side panel rattles, PCI slots slightly off), but for now it will do just fine. I kinda wish I bought a Silverstone TJ09 or TJ10 in silver now. I've learned if you want a long term investment to look good, get silver, as black scratches too much and then you just see silver anyway.

So it's CES 2010, see if Corsair comes out with a high air flow mid tower, see if Cooler Master comes out with a mid tower 840, see if Silverstone comes out with a TJ11.

Failing all that, I just pick up a TJ09/TJ10. From what I understand, there is very little difference between these two models (I would rather have the TJ09 as I hate doors, but if the TJ10 is that much better I may consider it), they are nice for 120mm fans and I plan to use Black Panty Hose as a cheap custom air filter over all the fans. I read about that thinking what a great idea to such a common problem. You could use some mounting tape and this over all the holes and it would look like a nice custom speaker cloth. No cleaning, just tie down a new one.
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Sylar,

I know you've been very active in this thread and I haven't read back far enough to really know what your goals are for getting the TJ09 or TJ10 - but if you do, you'll find that there are better cases out there.

Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt because the TJ09 remains one of my favorite cases of all time and it was also the case that housed my system for the longest amount of time - something close to (almost) TWO years - which is rare for me as I upgrade (read: "get bored") every 6 to 9 months. I had both the TJ09 and TJ10 - and you're right, they're very similar with the front door being the one major difference. The TJ10 ESA adds a few ESA features and not much else besides that. Regardless, I loved the TJ09 and kept going back to it regardless of all the other $200+ to $300+ cases I tried to replace it with. I did finally replace it out of sheer boredom.

The things I didn't like about the TJ09/10 were:

* CABLE MANAGEMENT: it was really hard to route cables cleanly due to the lack of places to hide the cables. There are a couple of threads here dedicated to Silverstone cases and also one for the TJ09 specifically - if you look through those, you'll find VERY FEW that are ultra clean in terms of cabling. There are a number of cases on here that are much better for clean cabling . . . and cost a lot less too!

* COOLING: these are not the best air cooling cases because of the poor air intake from the singular 120mm fan in the VGA cooling duct. For one, this fan meant to cool the GPU's and does a decent job of that. However, since it is also the only place fresh (cool) air comes in - the CPU cooler is suffocated and does not perform as well as it should. By the time this cool air moves through the GPU area, it's heated up pretty well and your CPU cooling will suffer. This resulted in me running the case with the side panel off most of the time - which was very ghetto and kills to look of this otherwise sophisticated case. (In hindsight I probably should have put one of the top 120mm fans to intake instead of doing both as exhaust - that might have helped CPU cooling).

* THE SIDE PANELS & HDD DRIVE BAYS: the side panels on these cases are surprisingly thin - which is really only a positive on the right side where you might have a bulge from trying to hide all of the cables b/c there is more give in the panel. Other than that, they're more prone to vibrations and generally just feel flimsy (even though I never managed to damage mine in anyway). More importantly, the HDD drive bay is not the best design because they're exposed (for the purpose of better cooling). If you have noisier drives like Raptors, look forward to hearing these drives all day long.

So again, as someone who thinks the TJ09 is one of the best cases ever, you can certainly do better these days thanks to the new features and innovations that newer cases have to offer. A TJ11 is long overdue and would be a welcomed addition to their line. All that said, you simply cannot beat the TJ09 in terms of looks - so if you want a great looking case and don't mind a few quirks, it's still a great case.
 
The side window on the FT02 is still bothering me. I'm trying to see if it would be cost effective to buy the window-less version and attach my own window flush to the case. I don't have or want to buy tools so I will have a fabricator cut it for me. I can use strong double sided tape to mount the window myself. I like the 800D window and I want to do the same on this case.
 
WorldExclusive said:
The side window on the FT02 is still bothering me. I'm trying to see if it would be cost effective to buy the window-less version and attach my own window flush to the case. I don't have or want to buy tools so I will have a fabricator cut it for me. I can use strong double sided tape to mount the window myself. I like the 800D window and I want to do the same on this case.
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I'm about as picky a guy as there is when it comes to cases - but I don't get why this window is causing several people grief in this thread. It's really not that big a deal . . . the window on my RV02 is fine. There hasn't been a single day since I've owned it that I woke up all pissed off because of the way the window is mounted on that side panel. :D

Worst case, you can just flip it around and mount it on the inside because it's bolted on anyways. IMO, this is just being way too critical over a pretty minor detail. Oh well, to each his own.
 
Well it bugs me whereas other people are more concerned w/ the case interior being black vs shiny aluminum/steel, make a fuss over the case cabling not being covered in black, or the drive bay covers not being sandblasted etc. This is no different than guys that prefer modern import cars dropped and tinted out vs others who prefer old school big blocks w/ OEM styling. Nothing wrong with being fussy when paying over double what most people consider a reasonable price for a case. For my tastes, I was very pleased to find out the case window is bolted on so I can easily remount the thing. It'll save me time and probably a few bucks vs cutting my own.

Tony Ou said:
The following information probably won't make your decision any easier, but the first batch of FT02 that our US office received are all black with side window (FT02B-W). So if you don't need the side window and can wait until around the third week of next month, you can also consider the version with solid side panel (FT02B, FT02S), which should be available for about $10 less. :)
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3 days till Xmas and still no sign of this thing on Newegg. I'm starting to think Tony's guesstimate was off (again). Hopefully this time it'll only be by 1-2 weeks vs 2-3 months. CES is so very close now that unless Newegg has a great price including shipping, I'm gonna wait to see if anyone displays a newer design worth salivating over. It'd be easy to buy something else to tide us over till summer when we actually need the cooling powa.
 
The delay on this case to newegg is really killing my drive to get it. I'm pretty much just waiting for CES now.
 
yenniedn said:
Sylar,

I know you've been very active in this thread and I haven't read back far enough to really know what your goals are for getting the TJ09 or TJ10 - but if you do, you'll find that there are better cases out there.

Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt because the TJ09 remains one of my favorite cases of all time and it was also the case that housed my system for the longest amount of time - something close to (almost) TWO years - which is rare for me as I upgrade (read: "get bored") every 6 to 9 months. I had both the TJ09 and TJ10 - and you're right, they're very similar with the front door being the one major difference. The TJ10 ESA adds a few ESA features and not much else besides that. Regardless, I loved the TJ09 and kept going back to it regardless of all the other $200+ to $300+ cases I tried to replace it with. I did finally replace it out of sheer boredom.

The things I didn't like about the TJ09/10 were:

* CABLE MANAGEMENT: it was really hard to route cables cleanly due to the lack of places to hide the cables. There are a couple of threads here dedicated to Silverstone cases and also one for the TJ09 specifically - if you look through those, you'll find VERY FEW that are ultra clean in terms of cabling. There are a number of cases on here that are much better for clean cabling . . . and cost a lot less too!

* COOLING: these are not the best air cooling cases because of the poor air intake from the singular 120mm fan in the VGA cooling duct. For one, this fan meant to cool the GPU's and does a decent job of that. However, since it is also the only place fresh (cool) air comes in - the CPU cooler is suffocated and does not perform as well as it should. By the time this cool air moves through the GPU area, it's heated up pretty well and your CPU cooling will suffer. This resulted in me running the case with the side panel off most of the time - which was very ghetto and kills to look of this otherwise sophisticated case. (In hindsight I probably should have put one of the top 120mm fans to intake instead of doing both as exhaust - that might have helped CPU cooling).

* THE SIDE PANELS & HDD DRIVE BAYS: the side panels on these cases are surprisingly thin - which is really only a positive on the right side where you might have a bulge from trying to hide all of the cables b/c there is more give in the panel. Other than that, they're more prone to vibrations and generally just feel flimsy (even though I never managed to damage mine in anyway). More importantly, the HDD drive bay is not the best design because they're exposed (for the purpose of better cooling). If you have noisier drives like Raptors, look forward to hearing these drives all day long.

So again, as someone who thinks the TJ09 is one of the best cases ever, you can certainly do better these days thanks to the new features and innovations that newer cases have to offer. A TJ11 is long overdue and would be a welcomed addition to their line. All that said, you simply cannot beat the TJ09 in terms of looks - so if you want a great looking case and don't mind a few quirks, it's still a great case.
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Thanks, just the post I was hoping for. My biggest fear for new cases is that 120mm fan support will start to fade before bigger fans get better, which made me think of the TJ09/TJ10 and their all 120mm support. I will take my 120mm Gentle Typhoons over anything bigger today. I will tell you this, my Sniper Bk Ed. has great 120mm aiirlow options and cable management. I was able to get the wires to a near ninja state, just coming out of nowhere to attach to the main board. Looks like there is no wires at all, this took an entire weekend to achieve lol! Taking your long term ownership and post into consideration, I will wait for new cases. Thanks for the info =)

This thread has become something of an unoffical case hangout lounge huh?
 
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SylarPowers said:
Thanks, just the post I was hoping for. My biggest fear for new cases is that 120mm fan support will start to fade before bigger fans get better, which made me think of the TJ09/TJ10 and their all 120mm support. I will take my 120mm Gentle Typhoons over anything bigger today. I will tell you this, my Sniper Bk Ed. has great 120mm aiirlow options and cable management. I was able to get the wires to a near ninja state, just coming out of nowhere to attach to the main board. Looks like there is no wires at all, this took an entire weekend to achieve lol! Taking your long term ownership and post into consideration, I will wait for new cases. Thanks for the info =)

This thread has become something of an unoffical case hangout lounge huh?
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Remember I told you that the cable management was tight in the Sniper, glad to see you enjoy it.
 
the only camera I have is my palm pre, which would work, but I'm not sure how to upload pics to hard forum, does anyone know? Don't you have to host them somewhere?
 
SylarPowers said:
the only camera I have is my palm pre, which would work, but I'm not sure how to upload pics to hard forum, does anyone know? Don't you have to host them somewhere?
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http://imageshack.us/

The website will give you the links for the forum once uploaded. The links are on the drop down "Get links and Codes for All Images" menu, and just copy and paste here. The menu is in the bottom, to the right.
 
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Wow. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who is disappointed in the Newegg pricing. Me 'n' Missus will definitely wait to see what's shown at CES, and if we still decide to pick up an FT02, it sure as hell won't be from the egg unless that price drops. In a month or two, some local retailer will have it for less and we can save a bundle on shipping.
 
Amazon seems like a better option for the FT02 when they have them in stock. I hope Lian Li brings back V-series or another unique chassis, their current case are bland IMO.
 
WorldExclusive said:
FT02B-W, FT02B and FT02S now on Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163162

$249 plus shipping.
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coconutboy said:
Wow. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who is disappointed in the Newegg pricing.
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Sonofa... did I call that one or what. I knew they'd pull out the 'anal with no KY' stick on shipping that thing. That's messed up man. NE is a good site; they're not as great as they were a year or two ago when practically EVERYTHING shipped free via FedEx, but they're still good. Some things they utterly rape people on though, and shipping is one of them. Between Egg Saver being a complete joke and some of the rates they charge for Ground....I shop around now, I don't automatically only go to NE. That being said, it's nice when they have open box stuff (just ordered an x58 open box a few days ago).

WorldExclusive said:
Amazon seems like a better option for the FT02 when they have them in stock. I hope Lian Li brings back V-series or another unique chassis, their current case are bland IMO.
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I agree wholeheartedly; I'm glad I've held onto my V1000 and it will be back in use shortly (once that x58 board arrives). Main system going back in that. :) LL has really fallen off the radar IMO in terms of coming up with unique chassis designs; nowadays it's like they're just phoning it in. Granted, 99% of their cases look real nice, but they need more diversity (if they have given up on the V series, which it appears they have). Their prices have also went up a fair bit more than they used to be but I'm not sure if that's a 'name brand price' or a 'the economy is in the shitter' thing.
 
I was hoping to see a price in the $219-229 range with shipping in the mid/low $20s, but to see newegg charge $249 and $30 in shipping is them definitely milking out a few bucks extra because smaller retailers are charging less. Admittedly I don't know the packing box size, but the Antec p193 weighs more and is a larger case than the FT02 yet costs $19.99 in shipping on newegg. The RV02 weighs ~5lbs less but runs $6 cheaper on shipping. Ditto the CM 840, Zalman GS1000, Corsair 800d etc.

I had a hard enough time convincing my lady to spend anywhere near $200 for her case considering the nice choices that are well under that price. There's no way she'll go for her 3rd/4th favorite choice when her top 2 both cost $50 less or more than the FT02 and we can buy them locally to save on shipping costs. Cooler Master 840 for $179 @ mwave or Lian Li pc-b25f for less than $180 w/o shipping from numerous retailers. Or the Lian Li pc-a70f, also under $200. We often spend more than the FT02's price difference simply eating out, but when the competition is kicking Silverstone's ass on price, it becomes a much tougher sell considering it's a luxury, not a requirement. Hopefully CES shows something better or at worst, by summer, prices should have dropped for the FT02.

Edit- Oh yeah, and grats to you fellas who bought your FT02s earlier from smaller shops like Frozencpu etc, because you made a good decision at the right time. :cool: Waiting months for this case to show up on newegg was a waste. Hopefully the wait pays off w/ something outta CES or a post-Xmas price drop on some other case.
 
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coconutboy said:
I was hoping to see a price in the $219-229 range with shipping in the mid/low $20s, but to see newegg charge $249 and $30 in shipping is them definitely milking out a few bucks extra because smaller retailers are charging less. Admittedly I don't know the packing box size, but the Antec p193 weighs more and is a larger case than the FT02 yet costs $19.99 in shipping on newegg. The RV02 weighs ~5lbs less but runs $6 cheaper on shipping. Ditto the CM 840, Zalman GS1000, Corsair 800d etc.

I had a hard enough time convincing my lady to spend anywhere near $200 for her case considering the nice choices that are well under that price. There's no way she'll go for her 3rd/4th favorite choice when her top 2 both cost $50 less or more than the FT02 and we can buy them locally to save on shipping costs. Cooler Master 840 for $179 @ mwave or Lian Li pc-b25f for less than $180 w/o shipping from numerous retailers. Or the Lian Li pc-a70f, also under $200. We often spend more than the FT02's price difference simply eating out, but when the competition is kicking Silverstone's ass on price, it becomes a much tougher sell considering it's a luxury, not a requirement. Hopefully CES shows something better or at worst, by summer, prices should have dropped for the FT02.

Edit- Oh yeah, and grats to you fellas who bought your FT02s earlier from smaller shops like Frozencpu etc, because you made a good decision at the right time. :cool: Waiting months for this case to show up on newegg was a waste. Hopefully the wait pays off w/ something outta CES or a post-Xmas price drop on some other case.
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I don't mean to sound like an ass, but $25 is really stopping you from buying this case?
 
Wests said:
I don't mean to sound like an ass, but $25 is really stopping you from buying this case?
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People can be really picky and not make sense.. sometimes ppl will wait 5 months for a case then its $20 too much so they dont get it. Its like your grandpa that refuses to embrace technology.. to each his own. Im not getting the case because its so poorly designed for watercooling.
 
Actually, it makes perfect sense even if you don't agree with my rationale. Paying over $100 for a computer case is considered extravagant by the standards of the overwhelming majority of people. $200+ puts a person into a very niche group of extremists. But okay, me 'n' the lady were willing to go there despite other strong alternatives that cost ~$100 less. But paying nearly $300 for a case is too far over the line. You don't have to agree with our reasons, it's not your money.

It's not $25 alone that is the difference, it's a cost that is relative to other products on the market.
 
It's kind of frustrating that this case is not going to be in stock for 3-4 weeks @ Amazon. They are the only etailer with free shipping.
 
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i just wanted to let you guys know that i ordered the FT02 from performance pcs. I got tired of waiting for Newegg, and they STILL dont have it.

It was supposed to dropship from silverstone on the 23rd, but PPC has been closed for the last 4 days for holidays/weekend. So im gonna call in tomorrow and find out my tracking info.. if it didnt ship... oh boy.
 
Should (hopefully) have my black windowed case on wednesday. :cool:
 
That's a decent deal on it (compared to others). Good for me though that I already bought a PC-K7B though because otherwise it would probably be too tempting. :)
 
Gave up on NewEgg.

Ordered from Sundial Micro: SST-FT02-BW $245USD + $28.56 shipping = $273.55

Picked up by FedEx in CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA, Dec 28, 2009 17:09, on schedule for Dec 31 delivery.

Sundial shows FT02's "IN STOCK" (incl. silver). Their price for non-windowed is $230.
 
Gemütlichkeit;1035115687 said:
Gave up on NewEgg.

Ordered from Sundial Micro: SST-FT02-BW $245USD + $28.56 shipping = $273.55

Picked up by FedEx in CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA, Dec 28, 2009 17:09, on schedule for Dec 31 delivery.

Sundial shows FT02's "IN STOCK" (incl. silver). Their price for non-windowed is $230.
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Its on newegg right now..
 
So it is...

But too late for me.

It's listed for the same as I paid at Sundial & the NewEgg shipping is $1.44 more. Perhaps most importantly--mine is already on the way.
 
Now this is a beauty! I wish my budget for a new case would be $250 instead of $100.
 
It is an extravagance.

Actually, with what you can get computer-wise at Costco for ~$600 or so... every single component I'm getting for this build is an extravagance. (And utterly ridiculous. And fiscally stupid. And ...Oh God! Somebody stop me! It's high tech and shiny--I'VE GOT TO HAVE IT!!!)

Ummm... sorry about that. I have these little episodes from time to time.
 
Gemütlichkeit;1035118277 said:
It is an extravagance.

Actually, with what you can get computer-wise at Costco for ~$600 or so... every single component I'm getting for this build is an extravagance. (And utterly ridiculous. And fiscally stupid. And ...Oh God! Somebody stop me! It's high tech and shiny--I'VE GOT TO HAVE IT!!!)

Ummm... sorry about that. I have these little episodes from time to time.
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I think everyone here has these episodes every once and a while.

Let us know your full build and please post pics. I am in med school, but will be postng my pics in 2 months when I have some semi-free elective time. I'm doing a small custom mod, hope to see some before I get my build up.
 
Damn, where have I been these last six months....


Wow. No X1000B or 800D for me....


Absolutely fantastic case. Probably the best I've ever seen.
 
In stock at Newegg for:

Original Price: $249.99
You Save: $20.00
$229.99
$30.04 Std. Shipping*

just bought one :)
 
A ATI 5970 does fit if you remove the grille on the bottom center fan!

20091210112458433.jpg
 
performance pcs drop-shipped mine. Goodthing i bought from them, newegg has the window-less version listed for 250, with 30 dollars shipping.

I paid 255 at PPC, i should be getting it on saturday.
 
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